Slump

[Syfer420]

Havent cought a fish in over 3 weeks im starting to get fustrated >. Is it that i fish small ponds??? Im getting bites but they spit it super quick before i can set the hook. This might be stupid but, is it that my pole  is so short im yanking the bait out the fishes mouth? Also any other advice im gonna try chaging baits maybe back to senkos and maybe some power worms. Also soft plastics are the only thing im getting hits on ive tried every other bait i own spinners, towaters, cranks, jerk baits no luck. I neeed advice please

[BucketmouthAngler13]

What length rod are you using?

And if your getting hook-spits on plastics, try sharping your hooks. You can get a hook hone for a couple bucks, and it makes all the difference. Much better hook sets, which are a must for fishing plastics.

[Syfer420]

5 foot ugly sitck waaay short

[BucketmouthAngler13]

5 foot ugly sitck waaay short

yes, 5ft is short, and ugly sticks are HORRIBAL for plastics.

The reason you cant get your hook sets in sooner is becuase you cant feel when the bass first picks up the bait. You need to feel the instant they bite, and set the hook pronto. You cant do this, however, inless you can feel them taking it.

If i where you, i would go to dicks tomarrow, and buy one of these rods, in 6' 6" mediem heavy action:

Berkly Lightning Rod $30

BPS Tourney Speacal: $40

Fenwick Eagle GT: $50

Pfluger Trion $50

BPS Bionic Blade: $70

If you can afford the Bionic Blade, then get it. If you cant, a Lightning Rod will work good. But what ever you do, do not fish plastics with a ugly stick.

Matt

[roadwarrior]

Get a new rod. That is a SIGNIFICANT part of the problem.

I suggest either a 6 1/2' or 7' graphite rod, medium or medium heavy power/ fast action.

[RoLo]

Based on all the difficulty you're having, it might be possible that you're not dealing with bass, but maybe panfish.

Roger

[fishingrulz]

5 foot ugly sitck waaay short

yes, 5ft is short, and ugly sticks are HORRIBAL for plastics.

The reason you cant get your hook sets in sooner is becuase you cant feel when the bass first picks up the bait. You need to feel the instant they bite, and set the hook pronto. You cant do this, however, inless you can feel them taking it.

If i where you, i would go to dicks tomarrow, and buy one of these rods, in 6' 6" mediem heavy action:

Berkly Lightning Rod $30

BPS Tourney Speacal: $40

Fenwick Eagle GT: $50

Pfluger Trion $50

BPS Bionic Blade: $70

If you can afford the Bionic Blade, then get it. If you cant, a Lightning Rod will work good. But what ever you do, do not fish plastics with a ugly stick.

Matt

Yes...a new rod will help. You don't want to set the fish right away. Do a three count in your head......1.....2.....3....reel down and set the hook hard!. Bass' mouths are bony.

[Murray]

berkley cherrywood from walmart. best value for a quality rod.

[Syfer420]

i wanna buy the berkley cherry wood and the bps bionic blade in the flea market for 25 exxcelent deal

[Vorlin]

Also you might try a scent... not to make them bite any more than they are but rather to get YOUR smell and taste off the bait. It's more than proved that a fish will hold a scented bait just a *little* longer than an unscented one... you still have to set the hook, but you have a little more time before they spit.

Little = 2-10 seconds

Don't count on more bites and you won't start a feeding frenzy... the idea is to get them to hold it in their mouth a little longer while they decide to spit or not. That's your window, where you set the hook. Make it as large as you can.

That is, after you get a better rod for the work you're doing! See the above replies...

Vorlin

[N Florida Mike]

On 10/21/2006 at 8:40 PM, BucketmouthAngler13 said:

yes, 5ft is short, and ugly sticks are HORRIBAL for plastics.

The reason you cant get your hook sets in sooner is becuase you cant feel when the bass first picks up the bait. You need to feel the instant they bite, and set the hook pronto. You cant do this, however, inless you can feel them taking it.

If i where you, i would go to dicks tomarrow, and buy one of these rods, in 6' 6" mediem heavy action:

Berkly Lightning Rod $30

BPS Tourney Speacal: $40

Fenwick Eagle GT: $50

Pfluger Trion $50

BPS Bionic Blade: $70

If you can afford the Bionic Blade, then get it. If you cant, a Lightning Rod will work good. But what ever you do, do not fish plastics with a ugly stick.

Matt

I don't want to be disagreeable,but I've caught the  large majority of the bass I've ever caught on ugly sticks, which is hard to estimate on the number but easily several thousand.And I would say 95% of the fish I caught have been on soft plastics.I rarely miss a fish , and have no trouble feeling the bite.And I have had my primary rod ugly stick for 15-20 years and still going strong, AND they're cheap!.

I do agree that a 5 ft rod is too short- that's the problem.I mainly fish my 6.6  mh ugly stick.No complaints A'tall.

[scfisher1]

You mentioned you're fishing ponds, is it safe to assume you're fishing from shore?  It could be, like another member mentioned, the bites you're feeling are from sunfish and the reason you're not getting hits from bass is because they're farther from shore in deeper water where you just can't reach.  This is summer after all and smaller ponds will heat up considerably.  I would suggest fishing very early or very late.  The advantage of a smaller body of water is that the temperature will drop quicker when the sun drops making the fish more active which most likely will bring them in closer to shore. 

 

By the way, a shorter rod won't make it more likely to pull a bait away from a fish before it can get the hook in its mouth, it should make it less likely.  A longer rod will take up more line per degree you angle it during an attempted hook set.  However, a shorter rod will limit how far you can cast which limits your ability to reach deeper water. 

 

If you've got the means to purchase a new rod, I'll throw out my recommendation.  I purchased a Berkley Cherrywood a few weeks ago from Walmart and so far I like it.  I wanted a 7' spinning rod that was 2 piece to leave in the truck.  It has a great feel to it for the price. 

 

How I'd approach a smaller pond in the summer is, if you can get there early, I'd suggest topwaters first, then switch to weightless plastics and then weighted plastics.  In the evening I'd do the reverse as the sun is setting.  Any shade will be your friend also; docks, overhanging trees.  Good luck. 

[Koz]

On 6/30/2017 at 0:11 PM, N Florida Mike said:

I don't want to be disagreeable,but I've caught the  large majority of the bass I've ever caught on ugly sticks,

 

Yeah man - quit dissin' the Ugly Stick!

[BassNJake]

You may want to try braided line if you are not using it already.

It is very sensitive to feel even the softest bites.

[Kyhokie]

This dude's slump is the longest of all time. 

[CroakHunter]

Still fishing the same small pond with the same ugly stick...11 years later 

[JustJames]

I do agree with all those that said sunfish bite or even small size bass with short bite. I'd been getting quite a bit of short bite lately, you might try to down size your plastic to see what is biting.

[Sam]

Are you using MegaStrike or JJ's Magic, etc. on your baits, especially the plastics?

 

The bass will avoid your baits if they are "different" in any way than what they are used to eating and will spit out your bait before you even know they have hit it if there is any "different" taste or feel.

 

So go back to your wacky rigged Senkos smeared with the scent of your choice and let us know if that makes a difference.

 

And by the way, scale down the size of your baits, too.

[hstaple1979]

On 10/21/2006 at 7:40 PM, BucketmouthAngler13 said:

yes, 5ft is short, and ugly sticks are HORRIBAL for plastics.

The reason you cant get your hook sets in sooner is becuase you cant feel when the bass first picks up the bait. You need to feel the instant they bite, and set the hook pronto. You cant do this, however, inless you can feel them taking it.

If i where you, i would go to dicks tomarrow, and buy one of these rods, in 6' 6" mediem heavy action:

Berkly Lightning Rod $30

BPS Tourney Speacal: $40

Fenwick Eagle GT: $50

Pfluger Trion $50

BPS Bionic Blade: $70

If you can afford the Bionic Blade, then get it. If you cant, a Lightning Rod will work good. But what ever you do, do not fish plastics with a ugly stick.

Matt

I totally disagree that Ugli Stiks are bad for plastics. These are the only rods I use for soft plastics. 6', 6'6, and 7'. I also use an assortment of Medium to Medium Heavy. Point may be it's your hooks, or experience, maybe rod length, but it's not the brand of rod. Fishing soft plastics is all about line watching, perhaps you aren't allowing enough time between bite and hook set. However, I can assure you it isn't the rod brand.

[crypt]

the sunfish bite is on big time here in Florida right now.  most of the fish you'r feeling is mostly bream,warmouth ,etc. try going a little deeper off the bank with whatever you're throwing and try slowing down a little. had a very good Sunday morning with small worms and Rapalas. water is getting warmer by the day so found the Bass a little deeper than panfish. even with all the rain we've had recently the fish are in a typical summer pattern. shallow early then move out a little deeper when the sun starts to come up.good luck and don't give up.......ever.....